Envelop.



Patented July 4, |899.

|||lm JXWMNI W. WOLFE.

lENVELP.

(Application led. Mar. 7, 189B.)

(No Moduli) UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

W'ILLIAM WOLFE, OF WILLIAMSPORT, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- HALF TOF.D. HOLMES, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK.

ENVELOP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 628,152, dated July 4,1899.

Application filed March 7, 1898. Serial No. 672,902. (No model.)

To all whom'z't may' concern:

Be it known that LWILLIAM WOLEE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Williamsport, in the county of Lycoming and State ofPennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Envelop, of which thefollowin gis a speci-v iication.

My invention relates to envelops of the safety type, and has for itsobject to provide an envelop of a construction adapting it to be sealedwith such security as to prevent opening without destroying ormutilating the same to such an extent as to be readily detected, and incarrying out my invention I provide the envelop with a main pocket forcontents and an auxiliary pocket for the covering-flap, the latter beingsecured by sealing material to both walls of the auxiliary pocket.

A further object of my invention is -to provide, in connection withmeans for securely sealing an envelop, a construction whereby theopening thereof to remove the contents can be accomplished withfacility.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will appear in thefollowing description,and the novel features thereof will beparticularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure l is a view of the rear side of an envelopconstructed in accordance with my invention, the edge of thecovering-Iiap being indicated by a dotted line. Fig. 2 is a perspectiveview of the envelop prior to securing the covering-flap and showing theauxiliary pocket open for the reception of the edge thereof. Fig. 3 is aplan view showing the relative positions of the parts of theenvelop-blank after the first step in folding the same has been taken.Fig. e is'a plan view of the blank with the covering-flap folded downtoshow the gummed portion of its exterior surface.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in all thefigures of the drawings.

The blank of the improved envelop consists of a main or front fold 1, arear fold 2, con'- nected integrallyvwith the lower'edge of the main orfront fold, main end flaps 3, integrally connected with the end edges ofthe main fold, auxilary end flaps 4, integrally connected with the loweredges of the mainend iaps and also with the ends of the rear fold, andacovering-Hap 5. The main fold is preferably of rectangular construction,and the main end flaps, which are folded parallel with said main foldand form the rear wall of the main pocket for the contents of theenvelop, are preferably provided with diagonal or slightly-inclinedupper edges, said inclination being preferably only sufficient to allowthe proper folding of the covering-nap 5, and hence being approximatelyin the plane of the foldingline of the covering-flap. The main flaps areoverlapped at their contiguous edges, and at their upper contiguouscorners are cut away, as shown at 6, to facilitate the intro,-

duction of the contents of the envelop, and j also the removal of suchcontents before the covering-flap is sealed or otherwise secured inplace. The back fold 2, which forms the rearmwall of the auxiliarypocket, into which the free edge of the covering-flap is adapted to beinserted, is out away at its upper edge to approximately follow a lineparallel with said free edge of the covering-flap, while the auxiliaryend ilaps 4r, which form the front wall of the auxiliary pocket, arecorrespondingly cut away to lie parallel with the free edge of the backfold, as clearly shown in Fig. 3.

In constructing the envelop the first step consists in folding theconnected main and auxiliary end iiaps inwardly to overlap at theircontiguous edges, as shown in Fig. 3, after which the back fold and theauxiliary end flaps are folded upwardly together'to lie parallel withthe main fold and main end flaps. The surfaces of the auxiliary endflaps, which are remote from the back fold, are gummed, as shown at 4,Land the rear surfaces of the main end iiaps are correspondinglygummed,`as shown at 3a, the line of gumming on the main end flapscorresponding with that on the auxiliary end flaps to secure the frontwall of the auxiliary pocket (formed by said auxiliary end flaps and theback fold) together, when the second step IOO nects, by cooperatinggummed surfaces, the rear wall of the main pocket and the front wall ofthe auxiliary pocket and leaves the device, as indicated in Fig. 2, withboth the main and auxiliary pockets open at their upper edges for thereception, respectively, of the contents of the envelop and of thecovering-flap 5.' The covering-Hap is preferably secured adhesively toboth the inner and the outer walls of the auxiliary pocket either bygumming said facing-surfaces of the walls of the pocket or by gummingboth surfaces of the covering-flap contiguous to its free edge, asindicated in the drawings, respectively, at 5l and 5C. Inasmuch as theadhesive material by which the covering-flap is secured to the front orinner wall of the auxiliary pocket is concealed and as access cannot begained thereto by reason of the rear or exterior wall of said pocket, itwill be obvious that the softening of the adhesive material by theapplication of heat or moisture, as by steam, cannot be successfullyaccomplished. On the other hand, when it is desired to open an envelopconstructed in accordance with my invention it is necessary simply toinsert an instrument between the contiguous walls of the main andauxiliarypockets and separate said walls upon the folding-line 1^"L lbbetween the main and back folds and between the main and auxiliaryflaps. Obviously this operation opens the main pocket at its lower edge.

Hence in addition to preventing the unauthorized opening of the envelopwithout such mutilation as to be readily detected the constructiondescribed facilitates the authorized opening thereof without endangeringthe contents, as when the end of an envelop is cut or torn off. Thecutting-line in the improved envelop is wholly outside of the mainpocket,

and hence no injury can result to the contents of said pocket by thismethod of opening.

lf`urthermore,it will be understood from the foregoing description thatthe essential feature of the envelop embodying my invention consists ofparallel main and auxiliary pockets designed for the specific purposesmentioned and connected at a folding-line which is between the pockets,the exterior walls of both pockets consisting of a continuous portion ofthe blank and the interior or contiguous walls of said pockets beinglikewise formed of continuous portions of the blank. This constructionis accomplished by the primary lateral folding of the main and auxiliaryend flaps and the subsequent or final upward folding of the auxiliaryflaps and back fold to occupy a position parallel with the main fold andmain flaps.

The blank after the initial folding of the side portions presents theappearance of a liattened tube, as illustrated most clearly in Fig. 3.This tube is folded upon itselfto form the envelop and pocket, and theend portions only of the tube are cemented, leaving the remaining partsfree so as to receive between them the cutting instrument when it isrequired to simultaneously open the envelop and the pocket. Thecovering-flap seals A further important feature of the constructiondescribed consists in its simplicity so far as the operations necessaryfor folding the blank are concerned, and the small number of gummedsurfaces necessary in order to maintain the parts in their properrelative positions. It will also be seen that the covering-flap may besecured to the outer surface ofthe rear or exterior wall of theauxiliary pocket when the insertion thereof between the walls. of theauxiliary pocket is unnecessary.

Various changes in the form, proportion, and the minor details ofvconstruction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit orsacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

Having described my invention, what I claim isl. A combined envelop andpocket formed from a iiattened tube folded upon itself to form theenvelop and pocket, and having the end portions only of the tubecemented leaving the remaining parts free for the introduction of aninstrument between them, when it is required to cut the tube along theline of the fold, and an end covering-Hap integral with the tube to foldoverthe open ends of the envelop and pocket and seal them, substantiallyas specified.

2. A combined envelop and pocket formed from a flattened tube having anintegral covvering-flap at one end to seal the open ends of the envelopand pocket, and having the opposite end of the tube indented to bringthe mouth of the pocket in a lower plane than the mouth of the envelop,said tube being folded between its ends to form the envelop and pocket,and having its end portions only cemented, leaving the remaining partsfree for the introduction between them of a cutting instrument when itis required to sever the .tube along the line of its fold tosimultaneously open the envelop and the pocket, substantially asdescribed.

3. A combined envelop and pocket formed from a blank having its sideportions folded longitudinally and adhesively secured at their meetingedges forming a flattened tube which is folded upon itself midway of itsends to form the envelop and pocket, and having the inner or contiguousparts of the folds cemented at their free ends, the end of the fiattenedtube forming the pocket being indented to bring the mouth of the pocketbelow the mouth of the envelop, and the rear wall of the envelop havingits-edge inwardly notched at an intermediate point, and an integralcoveringap at the opposite end of the tube to fold over the open ends ofthe envelop and pocket and seal them, and having its edge portion IOOIIO

my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of tWoWitnesses.

WILLIAM WOLFE.

IVtnesses:

A. A. LAYMAN, H. H. STRYKER.

